


Keep Your Enemies Close

by mukedayparade



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band), One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - No Band, Alternate Universe - Sports, Cheerleaders, Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, Fem!Harry, Fem!Liam, Fem!Louis, Fem!Michael, Girl Direction, Sports, cheerleader ashton, cheerleader luke, cis girl ashton, cis girl calum, cis girl luke, cis girl michael, fem!Luke, fem!Niall, fem!ashton, fem!calum, fem!sos, femsos, field hockey, field hockey calum, field hockey michael, possible more relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-13
Updated: 2015-08-13
Packaged: 2018-04-14 12:56:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4565457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mukedayparade/pseuds/mukedayparade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"This rivalry has gotten too far out of hand, girls." Coach Alston chimed in. "It's time we do something about it."<br/>"So, you girls are going to learn to get along, on our terms."</p><p>or,</p><p>Lucie Hemmings and Ashley Irwin, captains of the cheerleading team, have been stuck in a fierce rivalry with Michelle Clifford and Callie Hood, field hockey captains, for as long as any of them can remember. But one day, the rivalry goes too far, and the girls are given an ultimatum: learn to get along, or be kicked off their team.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. one

**Author's Note:**

> new fic!!  
> i decided midway into writing this that i would make it my first chaptered fic on here!! i have high hopes for it and im really hoping you all like it :)

"So, you want to drop by the gym for some extra practice before homeroom?" Lucie questioned as she climbed out of Ashley's car and fell into step beside her.

"Sure, can't hurt, and we have nearly an hour before we need to be in homeroom."

"Cool, good."

"You okay, Luce?"

The blonde girl nodded distractedly, biting on her nail. Her manicure was badly chipped from all her nervous nail biting.

"What's wrong?"

"I just-I'm nervous, for comp next week. I always am."

"Hey, don't be." Ashley knocked her shoulder into her best friend's. "You just need to nail that back-tuck and you're golden. You know you're the best back on the team anyway."

"Shut up." Lucie rolled her eyes, her cheeks flushing. "Not like you're the best base in the league, or anything."

"That's why we make the perfect stunt group. Plus, with Nila as our flier and Harriet as the other base, we're the best group on the team."

"Yeah, you're right, you're right. You know me, I'm always worried that I'll fuck something up during a competition."

"I know, Luce. That's why you have me to support you."

Lucie laughed lightly and grinned at her friend, pushing open the door to the school and starting down the hallway toward the gym. The cheerleading team got priority use of the gym during fall sports season, since all the other sports practiced out on their fields anyway. Lucie and Ashley had made a habit of coming to practice before school most days, as long as the blonder of the two was able to drag herself out of bed in time.

"Race you to the gym." Ashley offered when the girls were at the end of the hallway that led to the gym doors. "Loser rolls the mat out."

"You're on." Lucie smirked, and the two girls set off running.

They burst through the doors nearly in sync, with Ashley a step in front of Lucie. Despite the younger girl's longer legs, Ash was definitely in better shape, so she usually ended up winning these kinds of things.

"Aw, shit!" Lucie whined. "I don't want to roll the m-"

Both girls stopped in their places, staring wide-eyed at the sight in front of them. There were two girls running around in the gym, field hockey sticks in hand, playing a scrimmage. Lucie and Ashley immediately recognized them: Michelle Clifford and Callie Hood. They were the captains of the field hockey team, and, as the captains of the cheerleaders, their arch nemeses. 

"What do you think you're doing?" Ashley asked, annoyance clear in her voice.

Michelle and Callie stopped their game, turning to face the girls standing by the door. They had cocky smirks on their faces, as always, and they stepped toward the cheerleaders.

"We're practicing, ever heard of it? It's what you do when you play a real sport." Callie answered, a mocking tone in her voice.

"Shut up, Callie. We know what practicing is, that's what we came here for. And this is our practice space. Go out to the field, where you belong."

"This gym isn't your property, Ashley." Michelle retorted, gritting her teeth. Lucie stepped behind Ashley a bit, intimidated by the other girls.

"Everyone knows that the cheerleaders get priority over the gym. Don't act like you don't know that." 

"It's not like you need the gym, you don't even play a real sport." Michelle's words were like acid to Ashley's ears, making her step forward aggressively. As long as there has been a cheerleading team and a field hockey team at this school, they had had a bitter rivalry. And the way that the field hockey girls always got the cheerleaders was by claiming it wasn't a sport.

"You know what, Clifford?"

"Ash, m-maybe we should just go. We can practice this afternoon with the team." Lucie's voice shook with nerves as she reached out to grab her best friend's arm.

"Go on, why don't you follow what your co-captain says, Irwin?"

"I swear to god, Hood, if you don't leave this gym right now-"

"Then what? You'll cheer at me?"

"That's it!" 

Ashley lunged at the other girls, tackling the dark haired girl to the ground. Lucie whimpered, biting her nail nervously.

"Ashley, stop it!"

"Get off of her!" Michelle yelled, pushing a piece of her blue hair behind her ear and stepping toward the other girls rolling around on the ground.

"Hey! What is going on in here?"

Ashley and Callie separated immediately, turning with wide eyes to look at Ms. Alston where she was standing in the doorway to her office. The intimidating woman was not only the gym teacher, but Michelle and Callie's coach.

"Coach, I-I-she lunged at me! I was just protecting myself!" Callie exclaimed, rushing to cover her tracks.

"I don't care who started it, Hood, I care that it happened! This little rivalry has gone too far. I'm going to talk to Coach Morgan and figure out what we can do about this situation. Until then, get to homeroom!"

The girls all nodded profusely, rushing out of the gym. Lucie grabbed onto Ashley's arm as they fell in step beside each other, dragging her toward the nearest bathroom as the pair of field hockey players kept walking toward the academic halls. 

"Ash, oh god, why did you do that? Are you alright?" Lucie was frantic, brushing back her friend's tussled hair and checking her for injuries.

"I'm fine, Luce. I'm sorry about that, I know you don't like violence."

"I-it's alright. I just wish you wouldn't have done it. I'm glad you're okay."

"I hope coach doesn't get too angry. With comp next week, and all."

"I know. Me too." Lucie frowned, fixing Ashley's hair for her before reapplying her own lip gloss. 

"Let's just get to homeroom, yeah?"

The taller girl nodded in agreement, following her best friend down the hall and splitting off into their adjacent homerooms, promising to see each other at lunch. Lucie took her seat, just silently hoping that Callie wouldn't show up any time soon.

↢❀↣

 "I can't stand those cheerleaders!" 

Callie and Michelle were sitting at lunch, accompanied by Louise and Lia, discussing the girls' most popular topic: cheerleaders.

"They think they, like, own the goddamn gym. Ridiculous." Callie muttered, taking a bite of her sandwich.

"They don't even play a real sport!" Louise exclaimed, rolling her eyes. "They just flaunt about in their little uniforms, yelling out cheers for another team."

"Well, at least we know that Irwin has an arm on her. Got you pretty good, Cal." Michelle laughed, touching the bruise forming on the brunette's cheek.

"Shut up, Michie."

"They're bitches anyway. Think they're better than us, that they deserve the gym more than us? It's ridiculous." 

"Agreed, Lou."

"Did coach seem really mad? What do you think is going to happen?" Lia voiced the question everyone had been thinking.

"I...yeah, she seemed pretty steamed." Callie sighed, looking down at her food.

"She'll probably just make us run sprints. Don't sweat it, Cal." Michelle reassured her best friend.

"Yeah. Yeah, probably."

The blue haired girl let her eyes drift toward the table full of cheerleaders, fixating on Lucie as she spoke to Ashley. They both had worried expressions on their faces, and the rest of the girls at their table leaned forward to hear what they were saying.

"Michie! Hello?"

"What?" She snapped her eyes back to Callie, who was staring at her with a confused expression.

"I said, are you going to eat that brownie?"

"Oh. Um, do you want to split it?"

Callie nodded, grinning as the other girl handed her half the dessert. 

"Practice is going to be hell."

The other girls nodded in agreement with Michelle's words, groaning. It was all those damn cheerleaders' fault.

↢❀↣

The cheerleaders were all spread out around the mats, stretching out and talking among themselves. Coach Morgan usually didn't show up until after stretches, so it was up to Lucie and Ashley to lead that part, as team captains. But today, no one was counting and there was no order to what they were doing; everyone was much too worried about what their coach was going to do when she showed up.

"I feel so bad, everyone is so on edge. We need to be gearing up for next week, not worrying over something I caused." Ashley's eyebrows were drawn together with worry as she spoke in a low voice to Lucie, Harriet and Nila.

"It'll be okay, Ash, don't worry. 'S not your fault. Any one of us would do it if we were provoked."

"Not you, you didn't fight her. Callie was saying that shit to both of us, not just me, Luce."

"Yeah, but you know me. I hate conflict, especially when it gets physical."

Ashley nodded, sighing in defeat and reaching out to touch her toes. 

"It'll all be fine, Ash, don't-"

"Ladies!"

All the girls snapped their heads up to face their coach as she entered the gym, everyone going completely silent.

"Everyone to the bleachers, now! No talking."

The girls jumped up quickly, scrambling over to sit on the bleachers lining the edge of the room. Coach Morgan stood in front of them, a hard glare on her face, in utter silence. She was an amazing coach, and very compassionate in the right situation, but when she was mad, it was scary. She was, despite common opinions of other athletes in the school, the strictest coach of the school's sports.

After a few minutes of the girls waiting in silence, the doors to the gym opened. The whole team turned to see the field hockey team filing in behind their coach in a disorderly fashion. They all moved to sit in the empty rows above the cheerleaders, and Coach Alston stood beside Coach Morgan, sizing up the teams.

"So, I'm sure by now you've all heard what happened between your captains." Coach Morgan's voice was loud, echoing through the room, and causing said captains to duck their heads.

"This rivalry has gotten too far out of hand, girls." Coach Alston chimed in. "It's time we do something about it."

"So, you girls are going to learn to get along, on our terms. You will attend shared pasta parties every Thursday night. Cheerleaders, you will attend every field hockey game unless it conflicts with our own games or competitions. Field hockey girls, you will do the same with our competitions. And you will each be paired with a girl from the other team that you will make signs for, cheer on, and give encouragement gifts to on game or competition days."

"There will be no questions about this, got it? Everyone will comply to these rules, or be kicked off their team."

Lucie and Ashley exchanged a nervous glance. 

"Now, we'll be calling out who your assigned partner is. There will be no exchanges or complaints. Listen up, we won't repeat the list." Coach Alston announced, handing a sheet of paper to the other coach.

The girls all looked around nervously as they listened to the pairs being called out, but no one let out so much as a sigh.

"Callie Hood and Ashley Irwin." 

Ashley paled, her eyes flicking over to Lucie, who wore a similar expression. How could they pair them together? Everyone knew that Callie and Ashley had a bigger rivalry than any of the girls on either team, one that went deeper than their sports.

"And Michelle Clifford will be with Lucie Hemmings. I expect to see you all at the field hockey game tomorrow! Now get practicing!"

Lucie swallowed thickly, looking over at her best friend with wide eyes. 

"Michelle's going to beat me up, I know it. Oh god, Ash, what do we do?"

"It-it'll be okay. We don't have to be friends, we just have to cheer them on and give them things on game days. It'll be alright."

Lucie nodded, but wasn't anywhere near convinced. No one terrified her more than Michelle Clifford, not even Callie. With her bright blue hair, eyebrow piercing, and tattoos, she was so intimidating to the frail blonde girl, not to mention how goddamn scary her personality was. Lucie was fucked.

↢❀↣

"I can't believe I'm stuck baking cookies and making signs for Harriet Styles. This is bullshit." Louise groaned as the group of four headed to the locker room after practice.

"I think Nila seems nice, so that's not too bad on me, I guess." Lia commented sheepishly.

"That makes one of us. How could coach stick me with Ashley Irwin? That girl is the bane of my existence! I can't believe this!"

"I'm going to have fun screwing with Hemmings. She never even does anything when we confront her and Irwin, she's so easy."

"You can't do anything to her, Michelle. Coach will kick you off the team."

Michelle rolled her eyes as she pulled off her sweaty shirt from practice. "I won't do anything outwardly wrong, chill. And I'll follow all their little rules. I'll just have a little fun while I do it. It's so easy to make Hemmings squirm, I can't not take advantage of it."

"Whatever, Michie, just don't get in trouble. Can't lose our best forward."

"Hey, I'm just as good of a forward as Michelle!" 

"Sure, keep telling yourself that, Lou."

"Rude! Jesus."

"Anyone up for ice cream? I could use a treat after all this shit today." Callie offered, grabbing her keys from her backpack.

"Yeah, sure. You guys in?"

"I'm in! Nila, want to ride with me?" Lia said.

"Sure, yeah. Meet you guys at J.C.'s?"

"See you there!" Callie called over her shoulder as she and Michelle headed to her car.

The captains slid into a booth once they had gotten to the mostly empty ice cream place. Nila and Lia came in a moment later, sitting down and waiting for someone to take their order with the pair. After a few minutes, the girls finally see a waitress heading toward their table, and they all break into smirks as they see who it is.

Lucie's stomach twists as she sees the table full of field hockey players, gnawing on her bottom lip nervously. She approaches the table, adjusting her little name tag and pulling out her order pad and pen.

"H-hello, welcome to J.C.'s, what can I get you?"

"Oh hey, partner, what's up?" Michelle smirked, eyeing the nervous blonde.

"C-can I get you guys something?"

"Some dignity? Oh, wait, it's you who needs that." 

Lucie's cheeks heated up, her eyebrows drawing together.

"Leave me alone, Michelle. Are you all going to order something or not? Because I really don't need your shit."

"Woah! The little cheerleader has some sass!" Callie exclaimed, the whole table laughing.

Lucie could feel her blush spreading from her cheeks to her ears and down her chest. She tended to blush all over, a habit she loathed in herself. 

"Please, just order something."

Callie rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I'll get a cookies and cream sundae."

"Caramel sundae for me, with vanilla ice cream."

"Yeah, same as Louise for me."

Lucie turned toward Michelle, the only one who hadn't ordered, looking at her expectantly.

"Uh, yeah, I'll get a brownie sundae, extra cherries and hot fudge." 

Lucie raised her eyebrows, but nodded, writing down the order. She'd never understand how these girls could just eat like that. Sure, she and Ash would get ice cream some days when they felt like having a treat, and they gorged on snacks during their movie nights, but they would never just go out and get sundaes on a Thursday night. 

As soon as their sundaes were done, Lucie piled them onto a tray and carried them to the table. She was always so nervous when she had to carry too many things like this, since she barely had enough balance to stay on her own two feet; there was a reason she wasn't a flier, and it wasn't just because she was so tall. The blonde girl carefully balanced the tray on her hand, keeping her eyes on the ice creams and making sure not to let them spill. She was almost there, just a few more steps and she could put it down and stop worrying. Letting out a breath of relief as she stepped a foot away from the table full of field hockey players, she looked up at the other girls. Big mistake.

As the clumsy girl moved past the side of the booth containing Callie and Michelle, toward the middle of the table, her foot caught on something-that suspiciously felt like a leg-and she tripped. The sundaes came flying up at her, spilling across her work shirt and into her hair as she hit the ground, her hands flying out to stop her head from hitting the ground.

"Oh my god! W-why would you do that?" The blonde girl whipped her head around-splattering ice cream from her hair as she moved-her eyes fixating on the blue haired girl's outstretched leg.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Michelle retracted her leg, a sick smile on her lips. "But we do expect new sundaes, since you ruined ours."

"I-you-what the hell, Michelle?"

"Excuse me, but I don't particularly enjoy getting yelled at by my waitress. Maybe I should talk to the manager..."

"Jesus, no, stop. I-I'll go get you-"

"Lucie, what is going on here? What happened?"

The blonde girl swallowed thickly, turning toward where Marci, her manager, was standing, her expression not amused.

"I-I tripped. I'm so sorry, Marci, I'll go send for new ones."

"Do that. And you know the drill, those ones come out of your paycheck."

Lucie nodded, ducking her head and heading back toward the kitchen. She couldn't afford to have four sundaes taken out of her paycheck, this was ridiculous. Her mom was going to kill her.

"Michie, that was so mean." Lia frowned, her eyes disapproving. 

"Maybe that'll teach those cheerleaders not to hit my best friend." 

Callie laughed, giving Michelle a high five. "I just wish it didn't mean we had to wait longer for our sundaes."

The blue haired girl laughed, nodding in agreement. "Told you guys I was going to have fun."

↢❀↣

"Lucie, what happened? Is that ice cream in your hair?" As soon as the blonde walked through the door, her mom had confronted her. All she wanted was to go take a shower and change into clean clothes. 

"Yes. I, uh, slipped at work and dropped some sundaes."

"Don't tell me you have to pay for them?"

Lucie nodded sheepishly, biting her lip. "I'm so sorry, mom, I didn't mean to! It wasn't my fault, I-"

Her mother sighed, cutting her off. "Just go shower and start on your homework. Dinner will be ready in a half hour."

The ice-cream-covered girl nodded, sighing as she walked up the stairs to the bathroom. She swallowed back her tears, climbing into the shower's warm spray. Her mom seemed so disappointed, she hated it. Lucie knew that they couldn't afford for her paychecks to be cut down at all, but it wasn't her fault. She hated Michelle Clifford.

Once she had gotten into sweatpants and a clean shirt, she sat down at her desk to start on her homework. With cheer practice every day until four, and work until eight, Lucie barely had enough time to do all her homework. She stayed up most nights until one in the morning just trying to get it all done. She was a good student, a hard worker, and a smart girl, but in order to keep all of that up, she had to pull these late nights.

After she'd finished her math, the blonde pulled out her chemistry work and clicked onto her messages on her phone.

**To: Ash**

**8:02 PM**

**fockey bitches tripped me at work. spilled four sundaes on myself and now i have to pay for them.**

**From: Ash**

**8:03 PM**

**holy fuck i'm gonna kill them. was ur mom mad?**

**8:03 PM**

**who tripped u?**

**To: Ash**

**8:05 PM**

**she was...disappointed. we cant afford this shit.**

**8:05 PM**

**clifford**

**From: Ash**

**8:06 PM**

**fucking BITCH im gonna give her a bruise to match callie**

**To: Ash**

**8:07 PM**

**fucking wish u could, but u know the deal. coach will kick u off the team**

**From: Ash**

**8:08 PM**

**:(**

**To: Ash**

**8:09 PM**

**gotta do chem. text u before i go 2 sleep.**

**From: Ash**

**8:10 PM**

**practice tomorrow before school?**

**To: Ash**

**8:10 PM**

**sure. hopefully i can get 2 sleep before 2 am lmao**

**From: Ash**

**8:11 PM**

**:( love you luce**

**To: Ash**

**8:11 PM**

**love you too ash**  


	2. two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter two finally!!! i hope you guys like this :) comment and leave kudos pls

[this](http://tmblr.co/ZDbw5n1ZH9zZG) is sort of how i picture the boys as girls but like lucie has no lip ring and callie is a little angrier....and doesn't have the blonde in her hair. all creds to mareflares on tumblr i love her and her art so much. 

↢❀↣

"What did you bring?" Ashley questioned as she and Lucie stepped through the doors into the school.

"Brownies. My mom already made them last night so I just took a couple to give her. What did you bring for the devil?"

The shorter girl laughed at the nickname for Callie before pulling out a zip-lock bag of cookies. "They're just Pillsbury ones, and I ate the rest of them with Lauren and Harry."

"Smooth."

"When do we even give these to them? It's not like we hang out with those  _people_ at school."

Lucie sighed and shrugged. "I guess I could give Callie your cookies in homeroom. I don't know how I'll get the brownies to Michelle, though."

"Just give them to her at lunch and run." Ashley snickered, pulling her cookies back out of her bag and handing them to Lucie. "Thank you for sacrificing a conversation with the devil herself so that I don't have to have one."

"Well, I'm a lot less likely to punch her in the face, so I'd rather try to avoid one of us getting kicked off the team."

"Shut up." The curly haired girl laughed, shoving her friend lightly. "I'll see you in English, good luck with  _her_."

"Thanks, I think I'll need it. See you."

Lucie took a deep breath and braced herself as she stepped into her homeroom, biting her lip harshly when she noticed Callie sitting in her usual seat in the back, talking to another girl from her team. The blonde girl cursed herself silently for willingly offering to interact with the dark haired girl. She nearly turned right around to go give Ashley her cookies back, but stopped herself as she imagined Ashley's fist coming in contact with Callie's smirking face, and Ashley subsequently being kicked off the team. 

The tall blonde walked toward Callie slowly, with her shoulder slouched and her hands clutching the zip-lock bag tightly. She cleared her throat softly when she was standing behind Callie's chair, watching the dark haired girl's friend's face grow pale and her eyes widen. The captain herself finally turned around, her eyes flicking up to Lucie's nervous face with a sick smirk on her own lips.

"Huh, you managed to walk all the way over here without tripping. Impressive."

Lucie bit her lip, hard, to stop the words in her head from flying out of her mouth. 

"Can I help you, klutzy? You're kind of creeping me out here, just standing over me like that."

"I-these are from Ashley." Lucie dropped the bag of cookies onto the desk in front of the other girl. "For the game day gifts."

"Aw, cute! You're her  _messenger_. Irwin has you running all her little errands?"

"Fuck  _off_ , just take the goddamn cookies."

Callie raised her eyebrows at the normally shy girl's harsh words. "Fine, fine. I'll just hope they aren't, like, poisoned or anything."

"Whatever. I'll see you at the game, I guess."

"That you will, cheerleader. I hope you guys bring your pompoms!"

Lucie rolled her eyes and turned around, heading back to her own seat. She really hated homeroom.

↢❀↣

 "Did everyone give their game day gift to their assigned field hockey girl?" Ashley asked the table full of her teammates at lunch.

There was a response of affirmative murmurs, much to the captains' relief. The last thing they needed was one girl not following the rules and getting kicked off the team.

"What did you guys give?" Harriet asked.

"Cookies. Luce so kindly delivered them for me, so I didn't end up having to punch the devil this time."

Nila snorted at Ashley's comment, nodding in agreement. "I got candy for Lia. Just grabbed some out of my cabinet this morning."

"I still haven't given my brownies to Michelle." Lucie groaned, the bag containing the desserts taunting her as it sat on the table beside her lunch.

"Luce, you have to do it at some point. Just get it over with."

The blonde girl sighed, worrying her bottom lip and taking the bag between her fingers. "I guess. I just-she, like,  _enjoys_ torturing me. She tripped me at work last night."

"What? That's terrible." Harriet gushed, frowning.

"Just go now, Lucie. Go over, drop them on the table in front of her, and  _run_." Nila insisted.

"Fine. Okay, I'll be right back." 

The shaky blonde stood up, holding the bag of brownies tightly between her fingers. Ashley squeezed her arm briefly before she set off, sucking on her lip. She stepped toward the table, her eyes set determinedly on the blue haired girl talking animatedly to her best friend. The blonde just kept repeating in her mind that she could  _do_ this, it would be over before she knew it. 

The conversation between the field hockey captains and their friends went silent as they became aware of Lucie's presence. Her knuckles were white by now from how tightly she was holding onto the bag. Callie raised her eyebrows, Lia and Louise had similar expressions, and Michelle had a sick  _smirk_ on her lips.

"Can we help you, Hemmings?" Callie asked. "Coming to talk to me  _twice_ in  _one day_?"

"You bring us another sundae, Hemmings?" Michelle laughed at her own poor joke.

Lucie sighed in frustration, seriously considering just going back to her table. Michelle didn't deserve any of her mom's brownies; they were like heaven.

"I have your, uh, game day gift. Here."

The blonde girl dropped the bag down in front of the field hockey captain, bringing her now free hand up to chew on her nails. She wasn't sure what to do now. Should she just walk away? 

"Thanks, brownies are my favorite." Michelle grinned, but it looked more like baring teeth to Lucie.

"Yeah, well. Good luck, I guess. I'll see you at the game."

"Don't need luck, Hemmings, I have  _talent_."

Lucie rolled her eyes at the blue haired girl's cockiness, turning around and heading back to her own table.

"Bye, partner!" Michelle called after her, a mocking sweetness thick in her voice. 

 ↢❀↣

"This is ridiculous. I should be doing homework right now, it's my day off." Lucie fiddled with the edge of her sign. The metal bleachers were cold, the chill seeping through her jeans and giving her goosebumps. It was an unusually cold day for autumn, still over a month until winter would come, and Lucie was thankful that she had checked the weather before dressing this morning. If she had worn shorts or a skirt she would have frozen.

"I know. Plus, this was a total waste of my sign-making abilities."

Lucie nodded in agreement, looking at the signs that each girl was holding. She had made a simple one for Michelle, with  **CLIFFORD #18** written in bubble letters. Ashley's was more impressive, not because she wanted to make a good sign for Callie, but because she couldn't help herself. She  _loved_ making signs, always made any of the ones they held up during routines herself, and they always looked kickass. The one she made for today had  **HOOD #10** written on it in perfect block letters, with drawings of field hockey sticks decorating the edges, and a bit of tasteful glitter thrown on for good measure.

"I'm freezing my ass off. Why didn't I wear jeans?" Nila complained, tugging her shorts down a little in hopes of extra warmth.

"Trust me, they aren't doing much to help." Lucie groaned, wrapping her arms around herself.

After about twenty minutes, the girls had all grown too cold to speak, so they all just stared at the game that most of them did not understand. Lucie's eyes caught on Michelle after a few moments, her gaze sticking to the girl with the number 18 on her jersey and the blue ponytail. Michelle was  _aggressive_ , to say the least. She got right in people's faces and got the ball every time. She was  _good_ , Lucie had to admit it. 

The blonde girl couldn't take her eyes off of Michelle. The way she moved, the way she got right into everyone's personal space, the way she would tuck some of her hair behind her ear when it fell in front of her mask. And the way her uniform  _fit_ her, it made Lucie's stomach twist in knots. Wait,  _what_? The blonde girl shook her head slightly, biting down on her bottom lip. Those were  _not_ thoughts she was supposed to have, especially about  _Michelle Clifford_. Lucie knew she was bisexual, she had accepted that a long time ago, and her friends didn't care. But there were two problems with her feeling this way: 1. She wasn't out to most of the school, only her close friends, and did not plan on coming out any time soon, and 2. It was  _Michelle Clifford_. That was reason enough. _  
_

Throughout the rest of the game, Lucie had to constantly scold herself for letting her gaze get stuck on the blue haired girl. She was thankful once it was over, not just because she wanted to get out of the cold. 

"Thank god that's done. Do you want to come over and study?" Ashley asked as she and Lucie walked back toward the school.

"No thanks. I think I'm going to go get some extra practice in. Get that tuck down."

"Okay," Ashley grabbed both of Lucie's arms, looking her straight in the eyes with sincerity. "Don't work yourself too hard, Luce, you're doing great already." 

The taller girl nodded, swallowing thickly. She loved her best friend.

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow, Ash."

She watched her friends get into their cars and peel out of the parking lot, hitching her backpack up on her shoulder and heading into the school and to the gym. It was completely empty, since it was much later than any kids stayed by now, so she had not only the gym, but the whole school, to herself. She ducked into the bathroom beside the gym, just for extra precaution in case someone  _was_ still here, and changed into the athletic shorts she had brought with her this morning. She tied her hair up into a perfect ponytail before returning to the gym, rolling out the smallest mat.

After stretching out, Lucie took off her shoes and set them neatly beside her backpack. And then she got into  _the zone_. She took a few deep breaths, blocking out everything around her. She could no longer hear the buzzing of the lights, or the pattering of rain that had started up halfway into her stretches. All that there was was her and the mat. 

She closed her eyes briefly, envisioning herself in the air. She could see her legs tucking up into herself, her body flipping in the air, and, the part she could never quite accomplish, the perfect landing. She pictured it over and over in her mind, trying to commit it to memory so that maybe she could get her body to cooperate this time.

With a running start, she launched herself into the air. It was like time slowed down, like the world disappeared. Everything was in slow motion, and she tried to focus everything she had on her landing. As her legs unraveled, she closed her eyes and focused hard on her feet touching the ground, on staying upright. Her legs bent at the knee, her feet hit the ground, and she  _fell_.

She stumbled a little and then her knees were on the ground and her hands were squeezing into fists, so tight her knuckles went white. This was what  _always_ happened, every single time. Every time, she got so close, only to fall on her face.  _Literally_. 

She took a deep breath, squeezing her eyes shut, and got back up. She repeated the process over and over, until she lost count and her knees were red from hitting the mat so much. She felt like crying as she got back up again, checking the time on her phone. It was already nearly seven, she had to give up and go home or her mom would wonder where she was.

As Lucie walked down the hall toward the doors, she could hear the rain still pattering outside. It had gotten worse since she started, now a steady downpour. She was glad she had driven herself to school today, so that she could get some extra practice without having to make Ashley stay. It was a rare day when she could get the car to go to school, but her mom had gotten a ride to work from a friend, so she allowed Lucie to use it for the day. She was so glad, she couldn't wait to get into her car and go home. 

She climbed into the car, throwing her backpack into the passenger seat and fishing out her keys. She went to start the car, but all she got was a cranking sound and then  _nothing_. She tried a few more times, but kept getting the same response. The car wouldn't start.

"Great! Just what I need!" She yelled into the empty car, slamming her fists against the steering wheel. The blonde girl pulled out her phone, calling Ashley. No answer. She called three more times, but got the same answer. She was screwed.

She got out of the car, slamming the door behind her and going around to the front to see if she might be able to tell what the problem was. But she quickly realize that she didn't even know how to  _open_ the hood, let alone figure out what the problem was. She yelled in frustration, sitting down on the curb beside the car and burying her face in her hands. She felt the rain falling down on her, soaking through her clothes and onto her skin, but she couldn't be bothered to move. She felt tears spring to her eyes, and suddenly she was full out  _sobbing_ , sitting there outside of the school, beside her broken car, with the rain pouring down on her. 

"Hemmings?"

Lucie lifted her head at the sound of the familiar voice. And there was Michelle Clifford herself, a hood over her head to shield her from the rain, and a helmet under her arm.

"What are you doing?"

Lucie shrugged, trying to stop the tears from coming, sniffling pathetically. She wiped her face, but it was useless. It was blatantly obvious that she was crying, and it was too late to hide it.

"Are you...are you crying?"

Lucie nodded, sniffling again. "I-yeah. You can-you can go."

Michelle drew her eyebrows together, and Lucie couldn't help but notice how attractive she was. She wanted to punch herself for thinking that.

"Shouldn't you be, like, in your car?"

"It's broken. Won't start."

"Oh. Do you, uh, have a ride? Is someone coming to get you?"

"No. A-Ashley isn't answering her phone and this is our only car, so my mom can't get me."

"So, what? Are you just going to sit here crying all night?"

Lucie shrugged. It didn't seem like a half bad option right now. "Maybe. Don't r-really have another option."

"I could, uh, give you a ride."

Lucie laughed, despite the tears still dripping down her face. She wasn't sure what was rain and what were tears by now.

"Why would you drive me anywhere? You  _hate_ me."

"Because you're stuck here and it's raining and you're  _crying_ , for fuck's sake. Plus, those brownies you gave me were really good. I guess I should repay you for that."

"Or maybe you should repay me for those four sundaes that are being taken out of my paycheck." Lucie fixed the other girl with a glare.

"Oh, I'm sorry, because now you have less money to buy skirts, or makeup, or, like, flower crowns. I'm so sorry for taking away those things from you." Sarcasm was thick in her voice and she was back to her usual hard exterior.

"You know  _nothing_ about me! Don't you  _dare_ act like you do." 

"Oh, like I don't know your type. You're a  _cheerleader_ , Hemmings. All any of you do is jump around with pompoms and put on lip gloss."

"Shut  _up_ , Michelle! That isn't true!"

"Oh yeah? I'm sure."

Lucie sprung to her feet, anger laced in her words and burning in her eyes. Her voice was low but harsh as she retorted. "I have much more going on in my life than you could ever know or understand, so don't you dare act like you know me. I don't judge you just because you have dyed hair and tattoos, so don't judge me just because I'm a cheerleader and wear skirts."

"I-"

"You know  _nothing_ about me, or my friends, so stop acting like you do."

Michelle nodded slowly, her eyes blown wide. Lucie could feel the heat in her cheeks and she was breathing hard, from a mixture of anger and anxiety. 

"I'll take the ride home, though, because I have no other options and I would really rather not spend the night sitting in my car crying."

"Okay. Get your bag."

The blonde girl did as she was told, following Michelle and locking her car behind her. She stopped short, however, when she saw what Michelle was standing in front of.

"Oh no. No, no, no. I am  _not_ getting on that."

"Suit yourself," Michelle replied as she swung her leg over the motorcycle. "You can have fun staying here until morning."

Lucie bit on her bottom lip, squeezing the strap of her backpack tightly.

"I-is it safe?"

"I'm a good driver. I have a spare helmet you can wear."

"But is it  _safe_?"

Michelle laughed, opening a small compartment in the back and pulling out a helmet. "You can't live your life always wondering if something is safe, Hemmings. Sometimes you have to dance with death so that you can really live."

Lucie took a deep breath, trying to calm her shaking hands, and climbed on behind Michelle. She pulled on the helmet that was offered to her and slung the other strap of her backpack onto her shoulder. The revving of the engine make tingles run down her spine.

"Hold onto me."

"W-what?"

Michelle reached back, grabbing hold of both of the younger girl's arms and stringing them around her middle, so that Lucie was essentially hugging her from behind.

"Hold on tight," Michelle called out over the roar of the engine. And then they were off.

Lucie could do nothing now but hold tight and put all her trust into this girl who had always given her every reason to do the opposite.  _  
_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tell me if you want chapter three :)


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